Ore mill



April 26, 1938. w. F. J. McERLEAN ORE MILL Filed Sept. 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iNVENTOR W.F.J McErleon.

BY I

ATTORNEY April 26, 1938. w. F. J. McERLEAN ORE MILL 2 Sheerls-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 3, 1936 INVENTOF? W.F'.J.McEr|eon.

m m m/W/w ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATES ORE MILL Wallace Ferguson James McErlean, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Application September 3, 193 Serial No. 99,293

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved mill for separating and amalgamating ore.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an ore mill in which the ore is crushed 5 and ground to separate the mineral which, in turn, is removed therefrom by amalgamation.

Another object is the provision of an ore mill adapted to grind the ore into a fine powder to.

ensure substantially complete separation of the mineral.

Another object is the provision of an ore mill in which friction is reduced to a minimum thus increasing the life of the grinding elements and decreasing the amount of power necessary for operation.

A further object is the provision of an ore mill which may be readily adjusted to handle ores ofdiiferent qualities.

A further object is the provision of an ore mill 2 of very simple construction and which will operate continuously with substantially 100% chiciency in spite of the natural wearing of parts.

A still further object is the provision of a device of the character described of strong, dur- 25 able construction and which may be very easily manufactured.

The present invention consists essentially of an ore mill comprising a receptacle having therein a plurality ofspaced-apart frustums and means for rotating said frustums and at the same time applying pressure thereto to grind the crushed ore which is supplied to the receptacle. The mineral separated from the ore by this operation is gradually worked into a trough where it amalgamates with mercury while the tailings are floated out of the container in a suitable manner as more fully described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the ore mill,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mill with certain parts broken away,

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the assembled frustums removed from the mill,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the frustums as shown in Fig. 3, I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of an alternative form of the invention, and

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the mill and the apparatus for supplying crushed ore thereto.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, A is an ore crusher and B is a chute for conveying the crushed ore to the ore mill C, the crusher A and the mill C being driven by a suitable source of power (not shown).

The ore mill comprises an open-ended receptacle l0 having a bottom II with a central orifice l2. A collar l3 surrounding the orifice l2, extends upwardly into the interior of the receptacle l0 and a race l4 encircling said collar, lies between the latter and the side of the receptacle.

The race i4 is formed with a trough l5 adjacent to and extending around the collar I3, said trough having therein a quantity of mercury.

A plurality of spaced-apart frustums l6 taper- 10 ing inwardly, are adapted to rotate in the race l4 and each have at their inner and outer ends spindles I1 and I8 respectively. The frustums l6 are held in their spaced-apart positions by a cage consisting of a pair of concentric bands 19 and 20 held together by rods 2i lying between the frustums. These bands I9 and have a number of recesses 22 and 23 opening out into the lower edge thereof and into which the spindles l1 and I8 extend. The upper portions of the recesses rest 20 on the spindles so that the bands rotate around the collar l3 with the frustums and ride clear of the race M.

A U-shaped member 24 having a central bearing 25 and a supporting member 26 having a 25 central bearing 21 are both secured by bolts 28 to a flange 29 extending around the upper end of the receptacle III. A floating shaft 30 is journailed in the bearings 25 and 21 and extends downwardly into the collar l3. A pulley 3| is 30 keyed to the shaft 30 between the bearings 25 and 21 and a disk 32 is fixedly mounted on said shaft above the upper end of the collar l3. The disk 32 comprises a hub 33, spokes 34 and a rim 35 upon the upper surface of which are formed 35 radiating ribs 36. The rim 35 is substantially V-shaped in cross section with its lower surface 31 faced with a removable layer of rubber 38 and lying in, the same plane as the upper surfaces of the frustums Hi. This rim is pressed against the 40 frustums by a number of weights 39 formed of a suitable heavy metal such as lead resting on the ribs 36. With this construction the rubber layer 38 ensures a positive frictional drive between the rim 35 and the frustums l6 and the weights 39 provide the desired pressure for the grinding operation. Water is supplied to the receptacle l0 through a pipe 40.

In use, the ore is primarily crushed in the crusher A and then passes along the chute B to the mill C. The crushed ore enters the mill through the open end of the receptacle l0 and gradually works its way beneath the frustums l6 which are rotated by the power applied to the shaft 30 through the pulley 3| and suitable driving means. The shaft 30 rotates the disk 32 which in turn rotates the frustums l6 through the frictional contact of the rim 35 and the layer of rubber 38 with the latter. As the frustums rotate they revolve about the collar I3 and grind the ore against the race, I4. gradually worked to the trough l5 owing to the fact that the frustums taper inwardly and the mineral contained therein amalgamates with the mercury. At the same time water is supplied to the container through the pipe and the tailings ground fine enough to float, are floated over the collar l3 out of the mill. The flow of water to the receptacle is regulated so that it flows at any desired rate over the top of the collar. In order to prevent the floating tailings from being trapped between the outer ends of the frustums and the wall of the receptacle, the weights 3! are mounted on the ribs 36 to allow the water to flow therebeneath to the outlet.

The number of weights may be varied to suit the ore being handled and the layer of rubber 38, when it becomes worn out, may be easily changed. As the frustums wear away, the disk 32 automatically lowers itself to compensate for'this wear and the mill thus operates continuously at substantially 100% eiflciency throughout the life time of ,its various parts. This. wearing of the frustums is greatly reduced by reducing the contacting of metal against metal. The rubber 38 provides a frictional drive without the contacting of metal against metal and the frustums are separated from each other by the bands I! and 20. If desired, a layer of rubber H (see Fig. 5) may be placed over the surface of the race It. This second layer of rubber which may be easily changed from time to time, separates the frustums from the race thus further reducing wear.

The ore is very; finely ground in the present ore mill by the relatively large surfaces of the frustums extending across the full width of the race ll. This ore remains in the device and is ground and reground until it is fine enough to float thus ensuring practically all the mineral being removed therefrom, and since the latter cannot float, it remains in the container until it finally reaches the mercury in the trough.

This ore mill is so complete and compact that it may be carried from place to place to extract minerals from ores in places where, up to the present time, it has been impractical to operate owing to the high cost of the known types of machinery and the high .cost of transportation. There are many small properties containing valuable minerals which have not been touched because of the high cost of production with the present machinery.

From the above it will readily be seen that a portable oremill has been provided which will extract practically all the mineral from the ore, in which the wearing of parts has been reduced to a minimum and which will operate continuously with substantially 100% efliciency in spite of the natural wear of parts.

Various modifications may be made in this invention without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims, and therefore the exact forms shown are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense, and it is desired that only such limitation shall be placed thereon as are disclosed in the prior art or are set forth in the accompanying claims.

The ground ore is What I claim as my invention is:

1. An ore mill comprising a receptacle, a plurality of frustums rotatably mounted in the receptacle, supporting members mounted on said receptacle and having bearings centrally thereof, afioating shaft journalled in said bearings, means for rotating the shaft, a disk fixedly mounted on said shaft having a rim with its lower surface faced with rubber, radial ribs formed on the upper surface of the rim, at least one weight mounted on said ribs adapted to press the rim into frictional contact with the frustums and to ap ply pressure thereon to grind ore supplied to the receptacle, means for extracting the mineral from the ore and means for removing the tailings from the receptacle.

2. An ore mill comprising a receptacle, a race mounted in said receptacle having its surface covered with a layer of rubber, a plurality of frustums rotatably mounted in the race, a floating shaft mounted centrally of the receptacle, means for rotating the shaft, a disk fixedly mounted on said shaft having a rim with its lower surface faced with rubber, radial ribs formed on the upper surface of the rim, at least one. weight mounted on said ribs adapted to press the rim into frictional contact with the frustums and to apply pressure thereon to grind ore supplied to the receptacle, a trough in said receptacle containing mercury, said mercury being adapted to extract the mineral from the ground ore by amalgamation, and means for removing the tailings from the receptacle.

3. An ore mill comprising a receptacle with a bottom having a central orifice therein, a collar surrounding said orifice and extending upwardly into the receptacle, a race encircling the collar, a plurality of spaced-apart frustums rotatably mounted in said race, a floating shaft mounted centrally of the receptacle, means for rotating the shaft, a disk fixedly mounted on the shaft above the collar, said disk having a rim with its lower surface faced with rubber, radial ribs formed on the upper surface of the rim, atleast one weight mounted on said ribs adapted to press the rim into frictional contact with the frustums and to apply pressure thereon to grind ore supplied to the receptacle, means for extracting the mineral from the ore and means for supplying water to the receptacle to float the tailings. over the top of the collar out of the receptacle.

4. An ore mill comprising a receptacle with a bottom having an orifice therein, a collar surrounding said oriflce and extending upwardly into the receptacle, a race surrounding the collar, a

plurality of frustums situated adjacent to and spaced from each other rotatably mounted in the race, said race having a trough adjacent to the inner ends of the frustums, a floating shaft mounted centrally of the receptacle, means for rotating the shaft, a disk mounted on said shaft having a rim with its lower face lying in the plane of the upper surfaces of the frustums, a weight mounted on the rim adapted to press said rim into frictional contact with the frustums and to apply pressure thereon to grind ore supplied to the receptacle, means in the trough for extracting the mineral from the ore by amalgamation, and means for supplying water to the receptacle to float the tailings over the top of the collar out of the receptacle.

WALLACE FERGUSON JAMES McERLEAN. 

